MODULE 4 : THE PERIODIC TABLE

Chemical Symbols
 A chemical symbol is a one- or two-letter designation of an element. The first letter of a symbol
is always capitalized. If the symbol contains two letters, the second letter is lower case.

 Swedish chemist J.J. Berzelius (1779 – 1848) used the first one or two letters of the name of
the element

o C, H, O, N, S, I, Al, Br, Ca, Co, Si, Ti

 Derived from the name of the discoverer

o Lawrencium (Lr)
o Einsteinium (Es)
o Fermium (Fm)
o Mendelevium (Md)

 Name of gods
o Thorium (Th)
o Vanadium (V)

 From place of the founder

o Francium (Fr)
o Americium (Am)
o Californium (Cf)
o Europium (Eu)
o Gallium (Ga)
o Germanium (Ge)
o Polonium (Po)

 From Latin words

o Antimony Stibium Sb
o Copper Cuprum Cu
o Gold Aurum Au
o Iron Ferrum Fe
o Lead Plumbum Pb
o Mercury Hydrargyrum Hg
o Potassium Kalium K
o Silver Argentum Ag
o Sodium Natrium Na
o Tin Stannum Sn

Periodic Table

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  table of the chemical elements arranged to show patterns of recurring chemical and physical
properties
 one way of arranging known elements and provides a possible way of determining elements yet
to be discovered

Development of the Periodic Table

Scientists Contribution
Johannes Dobereiner arranged the elements by ‘triad’ according to order of physical
properties
Examples: Ca, Ba, Sr / Cl, I, Br / S, Te, Se / Fe, Co, Ni
John Newlands arranged the elements by ‘law of octaves’ according to order of
increasing atomic weights
Examples: H, F, Cl, Co&Ni, Br, Pd, I, Pt&Ir
Li, Na, K, Cu, Rb, Ag, Cs, Tl
Lothar Meyer Harranged the elements according to periodic trends
 Melting points, boiling points, and chemical activities
Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the elements in order of increasing atomic mass

Henry Moseley arranged the elements in order of atomic number giving rise to the
‘modern periodic table’

Modern Periodic Table

 Periods – seven horizontal rows
 Groups or Families – eighteen vertical columns
o Representative elements – Group 1A through Group O
o Transition elements – Group B elements
o Lanthanides
o Actinides
Periodic Law
 The physical and chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic number
Uses of the Periodic Table
1. The periodic table is a helpful tool used by scientists and students to find the structured sequence in
terms of physical and chemical properties which identify an element.
2. If a person knows the main properties of each of the groups in the periodic table and how chemical
properties vary within a group, he or she can predict the properties of any particular element with a
reasonable degree of confidence.

Periodic Trends

Property Description Trend

Atomic Radius Distance of the electron cloud from the nucleus Family – increases
Period - decreases
Ionization Energy Energy required to remove an electron from an Family – decreases
atom Period – increases
 Nuclear charge – the larger the nuclear
charge, the greater is the ionization energy
 Shielding effect – the greater the shielding
effect, the less is the ionization energy
 Atomic size – the bigger the atom, the lesser
is its ionization energy

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  Sub-energy level – an electron from a full or
half full sublevel requires additional energy
to be removed

Electron Affinity Energy required to attract an additional electron Family – decreases

 Metals – low electron affinity Period – increases
 Non-metals – high electron affinity

Electronegativity Ability of an atom to attract a shared pair of Family – decreases

electrons in a chemical bond Period – increases

Ionic radius Distance between the nuclei of two like atoms Family – increases
after gaining or losing electrons Period - decreases

Metallicity Tendency of an element to lose electrons Family – increases

forming positive ion Period – decreases

Non-metallicity Tendency of an element to gain electrons Family – increases

forming negative ion Period - increases

Chemical Nomenclature of Inorganic Compounds and Chemical Equations

Chemical Nomenclature
Steps in writing formulas:
1. Write the symbol of the positive particle or cation first before the symbol of the negative particle
or anion.
Example: Na+ Al3+ O2- F-
2. Criss-cross the valence numbers, disregarding the sign, so that the charge of the cation becomes
the subscript of the anion and the charge of the anion becomes the subscript of the cation.
Example: Na+ + F- K- + O2-
Na1 F1 K2O1
a. If the subscript is 1, it is no longer written.
Example: NaF K2O
b. If the subscript of both cation and anion are the same, omit writing the subscripts.
Example: Mg2+ + S2-
MgS

c. Reduce the subscript to the simplest whole number ratio.

Example: W6+ + O2-
W2O6 ------- WO3
d. When the polyatomic ion needs a subscript, enclose it first with a parenthesis. If the
original polyatomic ion already contains a parenthesis, use a bracket.
Example: Al3+ + Cr2O72- B3+ + Fe(CN)64-
Al2(Cr2O7)3 B4[Fe(CN)6]3

Naming Chemical Formulas

Rules for naming inorganic compounds

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 1. Binary compounds containing a metal and a non-metal
 Give the name of the cation first followed by the anion
 Transition metals

a. Old/traditional system
i. FeBr2 – ferrous bromide
ii. FeBr3 – ferric bromide
b. Stock system
i. FeBr2 – iron (II) bromide
ii. FeBr3 – iron (III) bromide
Naming Ions Using the Stock System and Old System
Ion Stock System Old System
Fe 2+
Iron (II) Ferrous
Fe3+ Iron (III) Ferric
Cu+ Copper (I) Cuprous
Cu 2+
Copper (II) Cupric
Sn2+ Tin (II) Stannous
Sn4+ Tin (IV) Stannic
Pb2+ Lead (II) Plumbous
Pb 4+
Lead (IV) Plumbic
Hg+ Mercury (!) Mercurous
Hg2+ Mercury (II) Mercuric
Au +
Gold (I) Aurous
Au2+ Gold (III) Auric

2. Binary compounds containing two non-metals

 Use prefixes to indicate the numbers of atoms present
 Mono is never used in the first element
o NO2 – nitrogen dioxide
o P2O5 – diphosphorus pentaoxide

3. Binary acids
 Non-oxygen acids
 Use the prefix hydro followed by the anion and the word acid added at the end
o HCl – hydrochloric acid
o H2S – hydrosulfuric acid

4. Ternary compounds
 Compounds containing more than two elements
 Give first the name of the cation followed by the anion
o K2SO4 – potassium sulfate
o NH4NO3 – ammonium nitrate

5. Ternary acids
 Oxyacids
 -ite (ous ending)
 -ate (ic ending)
o HNO2 – nitrous acid (hydrogen + nitrite)

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o HNO3 – nitric acid (hydrogen + nitrate)
o HClO2 – chlorous acid (hydrogen + chlorite)
o HClO3 – chloric acid (hydrogen + chlorate)